Nara Institute of Science and Technology (奈良先端科学技術大学院大学, Nara Sentan Kagaku Gijutsu Daigakuin Daigaku), abbreviated as NAIST, is a Japanese national university located in Ikoma, Nara of Kansai Science City.

In the "Evaluation of Achievements Related to the 2nd Medium-term Goals and Plans" (2010-2015) conducted by the Japanese government for national universities, NAIST was evaluated as exceedingly superior especially concerning research levels.

[2] In 2010, NAIST ranked first overall among the 86 Japanese national universities by the Japanese government in its first-ever six-year (2005-2010)assessment of national university standards and achievements.

[7] NAIST was founded in 1991 with the establishment of the Graduate School of Information Science and the University Library, followed by the Graduate School of Biological Sciences the next year.

The establishment of the Venture Business Laboratory and the Intellectual Property Division in 2003 furthered the university's drive to utilize research results to secure patents and licenses, and form new businesses.